Paula Hopper
General Paula Hopper is the leader of the Dakota Regulators and a general in the American Northern Army. She tries not to show emotion or anguish on the outside but occasionally has bouts of extreme anger or actual emotion. General Hopper however is excused by her battlefield experience and her friendship with General Marcus Williams. History Paula Hopper was born on May 8, 2240 in Rapid Valley to Ophelia Hopper and Hayes Hopper. Both caravaners, Paula's parents were often take her on dangerous journeys through Rapid City as a child. This gave Paula a lot of experience in killing at an early age, usually feral ghouls and raiders. This already caused some trauma, but Paula holds fond memories of this time in her life. Her mother always tucked her sleep and her father always kissed her on the cheek to say goodnight. This was not helped when Paula's mother came out as a homosexual in 2249 and was forced out of the house (and eventually Rapid Valley) by her spurned father. Paula was only nine years old and did not understand what was happening. Her mother did not tuck her into sleep and her father did not kiss her on the cheek. For a few days, she assumed it was her fault and hid in her room, refusing to come out. Her father was drunk and depressed since her mother was gone and did not even try to get her for two days. After her mother left, Paula's father sold their caravan and tried to settle down in Rapid Valley to try to begin again, even remarrying in 2252. Though this did mean she would get some schooling, this did not go over well with Paula and she grew distant from her father and stepmother. Paula wanted out of her constrictive house, she wanted to explore and get out like she did when she was young. She saw an opportunity to escape in 2256: the Dakota Regulators. The saintly white-coated protectors of the town, the Regulators were some of the few people in Rapid Valley who left town and went into the ruins of Rapid Valley, besides caravaners. The entry age was sixteen, and Paula decided it was her best way out. Her father did not approve of Paula leaving, but accepted it as what she wanted and gave her several going away presents. One of these was her first knife "to keep her safe". When Paula Hopper went to the Regulators asking to join, they were happy enough to accept her and put her with a trainer. At the time Paula joined (2256), the Regulators were rather low on manpower and what with combating raiders and (more recently) slavers, they needed to rush out as many new Regulators as possible to make up for daily losses. In 2257, Paula was first assigned to duty enforcing basic law inside Rapid Valley before going on any expeditions to the outside. This frustrated Paula, as she was told she had shown much promise in training but was not allowed outside. Also, the conflict with the slavers had escalated into a war with Custer's American Army and Paula was just itching to get some action. Instead, she was stuck in Rapid Valley, taking down drunks and embezzlers. This bored Paula, but she knew that the outside was dangerous and shouldn't be presumptuous about going out. This changed in 2258. The cork popped out of Vault 52, and hundreds of chem-addled vault dwellers emerged to ravage the whole of Rapid City. Personality The personality of Paula Hopper is a nebulous one, but she is most well known for her stoicism and calculation. She tries not to show emotion but sometimes does, either snapping and having an episode or showing an act of genuine kindness. This has made any relationship hard for Hopper, so she prefers the loner life. Appearance Paula Hopper is unusually tall for a woman, which sets her apart in a crowd. Hopper has blonde hair and pale skin, punctuated by several scars from battlefield wounds. She dresses like the other Dakota Regulators with a white outer clothing and body armor underneath. She sometimes wears advanced riot gear in battle, which is painted white to match the rest of the Dakota Regulators. Equipment Hopper's primary weapon is a laser rifle while other weapons include a combat shotgun, and a combat knife. She rarely carries stimpaks and often has painkillers and some other medicine on the battlefield. Hooper often carries a radio on her, to stay in contact with the ANA. Quotes By About Category:Badlands